Lab Pup and going out for the evening

[SwissJonese]

So we have a Lab Pup 11 weeks old, been with us for 3 weeks, had visiting her for 5 weeks etc when she was still with her family, the wife and I both work from home so always around. She came from a lovely family with 3 children, who had both parents.

After 4 nights of howling/barking we have not had any real issues. Yes she is a biter, nips, eats everything. Our 5 year old twins wind her up a bit and she does play nip them but nothing bad and we are always around, they are never left alone together (just as much training for the kids as well as the dog).

However Sat night my mum babysat as we went to a concert. Everything was fine to begin with, but a couple of hours in my mum says the pup went a bit wild and started barking at her, biting her (drew blood) etc. Mum has been around the puppy before and no real issues, and she has had 2 border collies previous so is a dog lover.

We have 2 more concerts coming up soon and not sure what to do. Do we leave the dog in the kitchen whilst my mum babysits the kids.

[HappyMidget]

I would recommend crate training your pup. Gives it it's own special place to hide away and also good for timeouts.

[SantaBarbara]

Get some toys or personal things for her, like a fox or a squeaky lion.

Have you tried her with raw carrots yet?

[SantaBarbara]

And bouncy balls.

[SwissJonese]

SantaBarbara said:

Get some toys or personal things for her, like a fox or a squeaky lion.

Have you tried her with raw carrots yet?

Yep she has lots of her own toys, even an old shoe of mine which she loves. She has tennis balls but not that fussed still with them.

[CAPP0]

Probably need a bit more context to what happened and how. Was your Mum interacting with the dog/ignoring it/winding it up/etc.

However. All puppies will bite (the Land Shark phase) and it's the humans' job it train it not to. It will have been nipping it's litter mates before it left, and you are all now the replacements in it's eyes. The dog needs everyone to be the same, and you need to be
Consistent/Insistent/Persistent. In other words, you all do the same thing every time, you do it every time it misbehaves, and don't stop until it has learnt. Tricky with two 5 year olds but there's no reason they can't be shown how to deal with it too.

For this one, some people say you should yelp to show the dog it has hurt you but I'm not convinced. For me it would be a very firm No, maybe with a hand gesture of your choice, and also push it down/away if it is all over you.

It will pass, I doubt very much you have anything to be overly concerned about other than just implementing basic training.

FWIW, I'm not a trainer or behaviourist or canine professional of any sort, just an owner who's had several dogs over the years.

[SantaBarbara]

Get a tugging rope for him to play with.

[Gargamel]

SantaBarbara said:

Get a tugging rope for him to play with.

Not for a lab, its a terrible idea.

Labs are retrievers, they are supposed to give you the thing back immediately and unchewed. Don't teach a lab to wrestle for control.

I would also NOT allow a pup lab to play with an old shoe, it won't distinguish between an old and a new.

Pups do need the rough play and a chance to find out what bites hurt and what are games. So let it play, bit etc, but stop as soon as it goes to far and hurts.

I don't see any issue putting the pup in the kitchen whilst you are out, but if your mum has had two collies, I imagine she can cope.

[SwissJonese]

Gargamel said:

I would also NOT allow a pup lab to play with an old shoe, it won't distinguish between an old and a new.

Pups do need the rough play and a chance to find out what bites hurt and what are games. So let it play, bit etc, but stop as soon as it goes to far and hurts.

I don't see any issue putting the pup in the kitchen whilst you are out, but if your mum has had two collies, I imagine she can cope.

Yep she was already a shoe lover when we got her, all the other pups are the same.

Mum said the pup was fast asleep, but after she flushed the toilet it kind of turned the pup into crazy evil dog. Mum was pretty calm about it all but not nice seeing her with so many injuries and looking quite worried, especially as the pup is generally such a sweet and caring dog.

[Gargamel]

SwissJonese said:

Yep she was already a shoe lover when we got her, all the other pups are the same.

Mum said the pup was fast asleep, but after she flushed the toilet it kind of turned the pup into crazy evil dog. Mum was pretty calm about it all but not nice seeing her with so many injuries and looking quite worried, especially as the pup is generally such a sweet and caring dog.

I would get your mum to feed the puppy herself, and possibly take it for a little walk even if only round the garden, and for her to give it a few treats. Could be a familiarization thing. Especially if she hasn't done this with you. IE it is anxiety caused by separation from you.

[Autopilot]

Gargamel said:

I would also NOT allow a pup lab to play with an old shoe, it won't distinguish between an old and a new.

This!!!!!!!!

[HappyMidget]

Gargamel said:

SantaBarbara said:

Get a tugging rope for him to play with.

Not for a lab, its a terrible idea.

Labs are retrievers, they are supposed to give you the thing back immediately and unchewed. Don't teach a lab to wrestle for control.

Rubbish, it isn't a working lab so no need to be so strict on retrieval rules. Anyway, my 8 month staffy can retrieve and drop on command without damaging stuff, which we taught him by playing tug as a reward.

Agree with you on the shoe front though.

[ClaphamGT3]

Another vote for crate training. With ours, the moment he nipped or barked at a family member or guest he was told "no!" And put in his crate. Worked a treat.

[CAPP0]

ClaphamGT3 said:

Another vote for crate training. With ours, the moment he nipped or barked at a family member or guest he was told "no!" And put in his crate. Worked a treat.

But then the crate becomes a place of punishment and not the safe haven it should be, surely?

[HappyMidget]

CAPP0 said:

ClaphamGT3 said:

Another vote for crate training. With ours, the moment he nipped or barked at a family member or guest he was told "no!" And put in his crate. Worked a treat.

But then the crate becomes a place of punishment and not the safe haven it should be, surely?

Supposedly, but from my experience no. Maybe because we also feed him in there so he associates it as being a good place to be. We also provide something for him to chew on and water to drink.

[SantaBarbara]

Warning about fireworks as well. He may get agitated by fireworks night?

[carinatauk]

The idea of crate training is good, but NEVER use it as a form of punishment else it will never take to it when it goes to bed or it needs a place for peace and quiet away from the family. Remember puppies get tired quickly and a child / children waking it up often will encourage behavioral issues.

An over tired puppy is a nightmare

Biting, it's usually take the form of its mother, yelp or "ouch" and then bark No; they soon get the idea.

As for tug of war; well I won't because it can cause teeth and jaw issues in a puppy. Also when you want to get something back now and later it will all seem like a game.

[Gargamel]

HappyMidget said:

Rubbish, it isn't a working lab so no need to be so strict on retrieval rules. Anyway, my 8 month staffy can retrieve and drop on command without damaging stuff, which we taught him by playing tug as a reward.

Agree with you on the shoe front though.

Thanks, good to hear your Staffy is well trained.

Labs don't have the same need as a Staffy, holding jaws and wrestling is exactly what they are designed for. Labs very much aren't. On you point about whether its a working dog or not, I think is a minor point, its what labs (or certainly my lab was made for)

I hate wrestling dogs for things/toys - so maybe its my own bias. But in terms of advice for the OP who has a pup who has potentially a minor aggression issue, I would say teaching it to hold and fight for stuff is not the way I would go.

Pups are trying stuff out and pushing boundaries, I would stick to playing with a ball, teaching it to retrieve, and ignoring it when it gets over excited or aggressive. I never crate trained, so I have no idea whether that is the right way.

[Equus]

HappyMidget said:

Rubbish, it isn't a working lab so no need to be so strict on retrieval rules. Anyway, my 8 month staffy can retrieve and drop on command without damaging stuff, which we taught him by playing tug as a reward.

I'm with HappyMidget on this one... long history of keeping retrievers and labradors, and never had any problem with them distinguishing between a game of tug-of-war and retrieving game, toys, slippers, balls, or whatever else you want them to fetch back undamaged. It's hard-wired into them at a genetic level, and actually very difficult to overcome, even if you want to.

If anyone can tell me how to train a Pointer to retrieve, though, I'm all ears: their general attitude seems to be 'What do you think I am, a bloody retriever? I fetched it, it's mine, now - go and fetch your own, if you want one'.

[SantaBarbara]

Equus said:

I'm with HappyMidget on this one... long history of keeping retrievers and labradors, and never had any problem with them distinguishing between a game of tug-of-war and retrieving game, toys, slippers, balls, or whatever else you want them to fetch back undamaged. It's hard-wired into them at a genetic level, and actually very difficult to overcome, even if you want to.

If anyone can tell me how to train a Pointer to retrieve, though, I'm all ears: their general attitude seems to be 'What do you think I am, a bloody retriever? I fetched it, it's mine, now - go and fetch your own, if you want one'.

Different Job description

Pointer points where the game has landed, then the retrievers go and fetch it.

Go to a Country pursuits event, such as the British countryside alliance puts on and you will see competition for various Gun dogs.